Combination garment hanger, stretcher and creaser



p 3, 1957 I. I. BURROWS 2,805,008

COMBINATION GARMENT HANGER, STRETCHER AND CREASER Filed 'April 9, 1956 IN VENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent OJ COMBINATIGN GNT HANGER,

' STRETCHER AND CREASER Ira I. Burrows, Mineral Wells, Tex.

Application April 9, 1956, Serial No. 577,009

2 Claims. (Cl. 223-63) This invention relates to a novel garment hanger, stretcher and creaser and more particularly to a device which may be used for holding the pants leg stretched while drying and for applying creases to the pants leg.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination stretcher and hanger which may additionally be used as a hanger for garments such as coats and shirts.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a combination garment hanger, stretcher and creaser which is so constructed that the pants leg to be stretched and creased thereby is held under a yieldable tension during the stretching and creasing operation.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a novel latch means whereby a transversely extensible end portion of the stretcher and creaser may be readily latched in different adjusted positions in which the width of the adjustable end will be varied.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of the device;

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view thereof, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view on a plane corresponding to the plane of Figure 3 and showing the locking member in a released position, and

Figure 5 is a sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 55 of Figure 4.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the combination garment stretcher, creaser and hanger in its entirety and comprising the invention is designated generally 7. The major portion of the device 7 is formed from a single strand of a relatively heavy gauge resilient wire an intermediate portion of which is bent and shaped to form a coat hanger, designated generally 8, including corresponding shoulder engaging portions 9 and 10, a downwardly opening hook 11 and a hook shank 12 extending downwardly from the hook 11 and merging at its lower end with the inner ends of the shoulder engaging portions 9 and 10.

The supporting hook 11 and its shank 12 are formed by the intermediate part of the strand portion forming the coat hanger 8 and constitute a two ply loop which is bent and shaped to form the hook 11 and shank 12 and the two branches or plies of which as seen at 13 and 14 in Figure 2 are disposed in side by side relation and merge integrally with the bight portion 11' which forms the bill of the hook 11. Parts of the two branch portions 13 and 14, forming the shank 12, are disposed in side by side relation crosswise to the plane of the hook 11 and shank 12, as seen in Figures '1 and 2. The branch portion 13 merges with the shoulder engaging portion and the The pants leg stretcher and creaser comprises elongated substantially straight and flat bars 15 and 16, forming flattened extensions of the outer ends of the shoulder en- 7 gaging portions 9 and 10, respectively, and which thus constitute a part of the wire strand of which the coat hanger 8 is formed. Said flattened longitudinal side members 15 and 16 are disposed in substantially parallel planes, as best seen in Figure 3, and extend in converging relation to one another from the shoulder engaging portions 9 and 10. Said complementary longitudinal side members 15 and 16 at the ends thereof disposed remote from the hanger portion 8, terminate in inwardly turned back portions 17 and 18, respectively, forming thumb loops or recesses which open upwardly or inwardly of the device 7.

Terminal portions of the strand constitute bar portions 19 and 20 which extend from the inner ends of the thumb engaging portions 17 and 18, respectively, toward one another and which are disposed in side by side relation, as seen in Figures 3 and 4. The portion 20 is substantially straight from end-to-end thereof while the portion 19 is provided with an outwardly offset portion intermediate of its ends, designated generally 21, which extends in a direction away from the bar portion 20 and which defines a notch or recess 22 which opens toward the bar portion 20. Said offset portion 21 includes a leg 23 which is disposed at substantially a right angle to the remainder of the bar portion 19 and the bar portion 20, and a leg 24 which is disposed at substantially an oblique angle to the bar portions 19 and 20 and at an acute angle to the leg 23. The legs 23 and 24 merge at their outer ends to form a rounded apex 25 of the offset bar portion 21.

A latch member, designated generally 26, is formed by an elongated plate having an elongated notch 27 opening outwardly of one end thereof and an opening 28 spaced inwardly from said notch which is rectangular and has its longitudinal axis disposed crosswise of the longitudinal axis of the latch plate 26. The opening 28 loosely engages the bar end 20 and the bight portion 25 is loosely disposed in the slot 27, so that the portion 30 of the plate, disposed between said slot and the opening 28, is disposed in the recess 22. The other end 29 of the latch plate 26 extends outwardly from the bar end 20 and forms the handle of the latch member. The bar portion 20 extends slidably through a sleeve or cuff 31 which is secured to the terminal of the bar portion 19, and said bar portion 19 extends slidably through a corresponding sleeve or cuff 32 which is secured to the terminal of the bar por-' .tion 20. The sleeves or cuffs 31 and 32 maintain the and hanger, the latch member 26 is engaged by its handle 29 and swung to its released position of Figure 4 so that the bar portion 20 can slide freely through the opening 28 for restricting the width of the device '7 at the end thereof provided with the latch structure, and so that said end can be readily inserted downwardly into' a trouser leg. When said end of the device is located immediately adjacent or just beyond the outer end of the trouser leg and with the bars 15 and 16 engaging the portions of the trouser leg located midway of the seams and where the creases are normally formed, the thumbs are positioned in the recesses 17 and 18 for displacing the bar portions 19 and 20 away from one another until the trouser leg is tightly stretched between the bars 15 and 16. The latch 3 member 26 is then swung to its position of Figure 3 from its released position of Figure 4 so that the opposite longitudinal edges of the opening 28 will frictionally grip the bar portion 20 to prevent said bar portion from sliding through the latch member 26. When thus disposed, the portion 30 of the latch will bear against the oblique leg 24 to prevent the bar portion 19 from sliding from left to right as seen in Figures 1, 3 and 4 relative to the bar portion 20, to thus hold the restricted end of the device 7 in a desired spread position.

The ends of the bars 15 and 16 which are located adjacent the hanger 8 are spaced apart a distance greater than the normal width of a trouser leg portion engaged thereby, However, the resiliency of the strand parts forming the hanger 8 permit the shoulder portions 9 and 10 thereof to be displaced toward one another and into partially overlapping relation by spreading the plies 13 and 14 of the hook shank 12 in directions parallel to the plane of the hanger 8, to thus reduce the spacing between the portions of the bars 15 and 16 which are located adjacent the hanger 8. In this way, the hanger 8 will function as a spring to constantly maintain tension on the bars 15 and 16 while said bars are in engagement with a pants leg. Furthermore, in this way the need for a latch structure at the enlarged end of the device 7 is eliminated.

The device 7 may be used for stretching pants after washing and for creasing the pants leg at the same time, or may be used for re-creasing and removing wrinkles from a trouser leg after wearing. It will be noted that the narrow outer longitudinal edges of the bars 15 and 16 will engage in the portions of the trouser leg in which the creases are to be formed, and said edge portions are sufficiently narrow to produce a sharp crease.

The hook 11 of the hanger portion may be used for hanging up trousers in a leg of which the device 7 is applied, and also may be utilized as a coat or shirt hanger with the shoulder engaging portions 9 and 10, when the device 7 is not otherwise being used or While the remainder of the device 7 is being used for stretching a'nd/ or creasing a trouser leg.

To release the device 7 from a trouser leg, it is only necessary to grasp the latch handle 29 for swinging the latch 26 from its operative position of Figure 3 to its released position of Figure 4, as previously described, so that the bar portions 19 and Ztl can slide inwardly with respect to one another for moving the parts of the bars 15 and 16, located adjacent thereto, close together, to enable the device '7 to be readily removed from the trouser leg.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A combination trouser leg stretcher and creaser and a garment support comprising a coat hanger shaped end portion constituting one end of the device, substantially straight bars extending from the ends of said coat hanger shaped portion in converging relation to one another and constituting sides of an elongated frame of which said coat hanger shaped portion constitutes one end, said bars having bar portions constituting extensions of the other ends thereof and forming the opposite end of the frame, said bar portions extending between portions of said bars and being disposed in overlapping relation to one another, spaced means slidably connecting the overlapping parts of said bar portions, and latch means supported by said bar portions between said spaced means for latching the bar portions in different extended positions for varying the width of said last mentioned frame end, said latch means including an offset formed in the overlapping part of one of said bar portions forming a recess opening toward the other bar portion, said oifset extending away from said other bar portion and including a leg disposed substantially perpendicular thereto and a second leg disposed at an oblique angle to said other bar portion and merging at its outer end with the outer end of said first leg to form the bight of said offset portion, said first leg being disposed between the second leg and distal end of said bar portion, a latch member constituting a part of said latch means and comprising an elongated rigid plate having a notch opening outwardly of one end thereof in which said bight portion is loosely disposed and an opening spaced inwardly from said notch through which said other bar portion loosely extends when the latch plate is disposed substantially perpendicular to said other bar portion, said latch plate having a portion disposed between the notch and opening and disposed in said recess and bearing against the second leg when the latch plate is disposed at'an oblique angle to said bar portions with opposite edges of the opening thereof frictionally gripping said other bar portion to prevent sliding movement of said bar portions toward one another.

2. A combination trouser leg stretcher and creaser and a garment support comprising a coat hanger shaped end portion constituting one end of the device, substantially straight bars extending from the ends of said coat hanger shaped portion in converging relation to one an other and constituting sides of an elongated frame of which said coat hanger shaped portion constitutes one end, said bars having bar portionsconstituting extensions of the other ends thereof and forming the opposite end of the frame, said bar portions extending between portions of said bars and being disposed in overlapping relation to one another, spaced means sli-dably connecting the overlapping parts of said bar portions, and latch means supported by said bar portions between said spaced means for latching the bar portions in different extended positions for varying the width of said last mentioned frame end, said frame being formed of a single strand of a relatively heavy gauge resilient wire including a portion of circular cross section forming the coat hanger shaped portion of the frame and flattened portions forming said bars and bar portions, said coat hanger shaped portion including a supporting hook and hook shank each of two ply construction, the plies or branches forming the hook shank terminating in outturued extensions forming garment shoulder engaging portions of the coat hanger shaped portion, said shoulder engaging portions extending in opposite directions to one another and being disposed crosswise of the plane of the hook shank said plies of the hook shank being disposed in side by side relation crosswise of the plane of the coat hanger shaped portion whereby said shoulder engaging portions and the bar ends located adjacent thereto may be displaced toward one another for restricting the width of'the frame adjacent the end thereof formed by the coat hanger shaped portion and for tensioningsaid frame end to cause the frame sides to be spring urged apart.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Eberhardt Dec. 2, 1952 

